Proverbs 17

¹ Better is a dried-up morsel when ease is with it Than a house full of sacrifices, with contention. ² An intelligent servant rules over a son who causes shame And is apportioned an allotment in the midst of the brothers. ³ The smelter for silver and the crucible for gold, Yet Yahweh is testing hearts. ⁴ The evildoer attends to lawless lips; The false man gives ear to the woe-scheming tongue. ⁵ He who derides the destitute one reproaches his Maker; He who rejoices at calamity shall not be held innocent. ⁶ Sons of sons are the crown of the old, And their fathers are the beauty of sons. ⁷ Excelling eloquence does not seem comely in the decadent person; How much less indeed false eloquence in the patron. ⁸ A bribe is like a stone for favor in the eyes of its grand possessor; Wherever it is present it proceeds effectively. ⁹ He who covers a transgression seeks love, Yet he who repeats the matter parts one from his mentor. ¹⁰ A rebuke settles deeper into one of understanding Than a hundred smitings into a stupid man. ¹¹ A rebellious man is seeking only evil, And a cruel messenger is sent to him. ¹² Let a bereaved bear encounter a man, But certainly not a stupid person in his folly. ¹³ If one returns evil for good, Evil shall not remove itself from his house. ¹⁴ The beginning of a quarrel is like opening up a dam of water, So before the contention rails, abandon it. ¹⁵ He who justifies the wicked person and he who condemns the righteous man, Even both of them are an abhorrence to Yahweh. ¹⁶ Why then should the price be in the hand of a stupid man To acquire wisdom, since he has no heart understanding? ¹⁷ The close associate keeps friendship at all times, And a brother is born to share distress. ¹⁸ A man who lacks heart understanding will clasp his palm in pledge, Becoming hostage as surety in the presence of his associate. ¹⁹ He who loves transgression loves strife; He who makes his portal lofty seeks its breaking down. ²⁰ A perverse heart does not find good, And he who is devious in his tongue falls into evil. ²¹ One who begets a stupid child has affliction for himself, And a father of a decadent son cannot rejoice. ²² A rejoicing heart does good as a cure, Yet a despondent spirit dries up the ribs. ²³ A wicked man takes a bribe from the bosom To turn aside the paths of right judgment. ²⁴ Wisdom lies before the face of the man of understanding, Yet the eyes of the stupid one roam to the ends of the earth. ²⁵ A stupid son is vexation to his father And bitterness to her who bore him. ²⁶ To fine also the righteous person is not good, Or to smite patrons for their uprightness. ²⁷ One who knows knowledge keeps back on his sayings, And the man of comprehension is cool of spirit. ²⁸ Even a fool who keeps silence is reckoned wise; He who closes up his lips has understanding.